Parties question ÖVP’s choice of Wolfgang Mayer

Parties have reacted critically to Wolfgang Mayer’s appointment as Salzburg’s new deputy governor, ORF reports. The FPÖ, the ÖVP’s coalition partner, said Mayer must now prove he can meet the demands of the office. The SPÖ questioned his experience and reliability, while the KPÖ called him the “last resort of a panicked ÖVP”.

FPÖ leader and Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek said her party accepted the decision by Governor Karoline Edtstadler. She noted that Mayer, previously the ÖVP’s parliamentary group leader and party manager, would now face entirely different responsibilities in the coalition government.

Svazek said Mayer would need to demonstrate reliability, responsibility, maximum integrity and the ability to put the interests of the state ahead of personal or party-political considerations. She added that responsibility also lay with those who had proposed him for the position.

The FPÖ would remain the stability factor on which Salzburg could rely, Svazek said. She referred to voters who would deliver their final assessment at the state election in 18 months, including on the ÖVP’s decision. She said she expected reliability and clear conditions from the coalition partner until then.

Salzburg SPÖ leader Peter Eder said he was “highly surprised and puzzled” by the personnel decision. He said Mayer was hardly remembered as a figure capable of bringing people together and accused him of repeatedly threatening the SPÖ with legal complaints, publicly attacking him and disparaging peaceful protests against the abolition of the care bonus.

Eder also criticised the decision to transfer the health portfolio to Mayer. He said the role should have gone to someone with extensive knowledge of the subject. Taking the portfolio from state councillor Daniele Gutschi was not a sign that the ÖVP in the state government was taking the problems seriously enough, he said.

KPÖ parliamentary group leader Natalie Hangöbl sharply criticised the timing of the change from outgoing deputy governor Schnöll to Mayer. Holding a press conference on central personnel matters at 9 p.m. on a Sunday indicated “sheer panic” within the governing party, she said. Mayer was the ÖVP’s “last resort”, Hangöbl added, suggesting that otherwise nobody wanted to take on the role.